I remember watching this episode for the first time and thinking "This is the most extraordinary episode of TV I had ever seen." It's wonderful that you both share your reactions. This is the best sci-fi show ever. Just wait. It gets even better.
Agreed. This show is so fucking good. I’m literally watching the show from beginning to end for like the 4th time in a row now. lol. I can’t get into other shows, they just don’t match the tension of The Expanse.
This my favorite episode. I love how the end switches to a gothic romance that has been building from the first scene. Amazing writing, and the acting is just as good.
@@elkapro6534 yeah, especially the whole thing about moving a massive asteroid without a reaction drive while making the asteroid itself feel no applied force to it... lol
The guy making the decisions is the Secretary General of the United Nations, Esteban Sorento-Gillis. Sadavir Errinwright is the Undersecretary of the UN, 2nd in command. Avasarala is Undersecretary General of the Executive Office of the Secretary General, quite a long title.... I think this makes her kind of like Chief of Staff in US terms, highest ranking advisor.
All of the protomolecule currently in operation interacted with julie. Phoebe was destroyed, the Anubis was destroyed, and the Rocinante crew have the only original sample. All of Eros’s protomolecule was extracted from Julie.
I haven’t seen this episode in years. I just finished reading the books for the 2nd time. Seeing this episode again, in your reactions, (plus the meat from Leviathan Wakes) brought tears to my eyes. Tragically beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe what happens to Miller and Julie. You can see where Julie and Miller are both influencing each other throughout the story line, urging their paths to intersect. What seems like fate is just the non-local nature of the PM, tying together connections to accomplish its own ends…which is kind of what destiny is 🤷🏽♂️ in the universal sense. Miller’s love for Julie’s spirit is probably the purest type of connection he was looking for. A connection to his own humanity he had lost. A love for life itself he didn’t think he had anymore until he came across her. Julie sacrificed herself for the Belt and Belters like Miller, in an age where something like that was as improbable to humans as the protomolecule itself lol. Such great writing and acting and cinematography altogether! Love this freaking series!
I think what people are refering to when saying that the Expanse is more realistic than Battlestar:Galactica is everything but the protomolecule - especially the physics and other sciences portrayed in the Expanse are fairly accurate and the universe is close to something one would imagine in real life. I think it also does a great job of incorporating principle/deep knowledge from science into the storyline. Case in point: You've noticed that their is some time weirdness between Julie and Miller with them saying 'You belong with me'. We see the protomolecule has the ability to completely ignore momentum conservation (i.e. Miller does not feel the acceleration while on Eros at all while the crew really feels it on the Roci), which is deeply connected to breaking space symmetry (this is a beautiful connection in physics due to Emmy Noether). Similarly, it seems like it can ignore Energy conservation which by the same token hints at a breaking of time symmetry. That is it is heavily hinted that the protomolecule can mess with time and I personally think that also explains Miller's somewhat strange obsession with Julie - he remembers the future.
Weird take. I honestly think the protomolecule doesn't break as many rules as people think. It just works with invisible sources. When flying towards earth, it still had a thermal residue. It might have been working by pushing dark matter in the opposite direction. I think the protomolecule respects conservation of energy and entropy well enough. That's why it needs life or machines to grow in the first place. It's why it was dormant on the cold Phoebe
@@androkguz Fair enough. It's fictional after all so who really knows, I just like the idea. The protomolecule definitely breaks momentum conservation though - especially later. It's also non-local!
@@androkguz not a weird take imo. Just because the protomolocule has some waste heat, doesn’t mean it’s not also breaking pretty much every other known law or theory of physics that we have. If nothing else the same there’s definitely the space-time ripple that happens after Josh has taken off his helmet, become infected with the protomolocule and taken Julie’s hand.
@@Drummer4President it's not in fact. Even PM is bound by theoretical physics as we know/created them. Its movement is an example of Alcubierre Drive, which is perfectly plausible according to Einstein's field equations.
In the expanse the technology humans use and space physics are very close to being realistic. That's whats different from BSG. They don't have magical artificial gravity or faster than light travel. The protomolecule is the only thing that doesn't respect that rule.
Gets me every time. This was an award worthy episode of television. Phenomenal is right. Episode is called Home. Mankind's home is threatened. Julie wants to go home. And back in season 1, Anderson Dawes told Miller that when he has lost everything, hell find his way home, and would be welcomed. And so, Miller's arc is complete. And yes, he told Naomi, season 2 episode 1, that he sees her and that she tells him "you belong with me." Believe it or not, though this is in my top 5 episodes, it gets better. From here to the end of season 3 is just ridiculous. I can't believe how criminally underwatched this show is
Love watching you two on this journey, another awesome reaction video! If you think that was a tear jerker...just know The Expanse is going to grab those tears a ton more before it's done. Cliffhangers & Tear Jerkers are The Expanse's specialty!!!
Great reaction. I think the protomolecule system was essentially “repurposing” Julie’s consciousness to meet its own needs, much like the original concept of the Matrix (before the producers made the Wachowskis change the concept to “batteries”). The protomolecule system wanted more human organic matter to infect; sensing Julie’s desire to return to Earth (the place with the most human organic matter), it put Julie into a “Matrix” scenario where she was driving the Razorback, thus trying to exploit her feelings of abandonment and desire to return home. That is, until she awoke and realized she could “bend the rules”. It’s kind of beautiful how Miller was the Morpheus to her Neo.
This is not something that's necessarily confirmed but there's a lot of strong evidence for it throughout the first two seasons if you go back and rewatch it: the protomolecule exists outside the confines of time, which is how it's able to move objects by altering SpaceTime around them. That's important to our story because you noticed that Miller and Julie seem inexorably drawn to each other and even love each other without ever having met. And there's a lot of times in the show where they see each other or they say things that they can't possibly already know but then come up later, such as when Julie says that he belongs with her or when she uses the hummingbird to draw him to her or when she saw him as she was dying even though he wasn't there. There's a ton of examples of it, but it seems that because they both eventually become part of the protomolecule that they have been existing together outside of time their entire lives and it's why they were drawn to each other because they eventually end up together which means they have always existed together outside of time in the past and the present and the future. They are quite literally together forever and always have been. A lot of what happens with Miller seems coincidental to get him to this point unless he was always supposed to get to this point in which case it it wasn't coincidences that brought him here it was the fact that he's always been here with her
The technology the humans have is mostly realistic/plausible (at least more so than many sci-fi shows). On the other hand, the protomolecule is not - it's alien, it's presumably "advanced" and can do things we can't explain based on modern science. I think that's kind of the point - the contrast between what we know and what we don't know. (Plus it would've been a spoiler to mention anything about the protomolecule at the start.)
The protomolecule can definitely do amazing things, though it is only a piece of technology. I find the concept of the protomolecule itself totally believeable on the other hand; A universal, intelligently-designed virus that uses any form of life of any chemistry into a preprogrammed technology, entirely through trial and error with that biology.
For me, a True hero dies to save everyone else. For book 1, Joe Miller is a True Hero. This is how to tell a story. This show is my all time favorite sci-fi TV series. The writing, the acting, the production (CGI, and sets/costumes), are just top tier, and perfect. This show deserves many Emmy awards. So on to book 2. Hang on tight. This ride ain't over yet. Glad you two are as invested in this show as I am.
Great reaction! It's so wonderful to see these two ladies get emotional invested in this story! To be fair I've seen this so many times, and it still rips my heart out. And to think that it only gets better!! Can't wait for the next one!
Mark Twain: "Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please." The Expanse follows this philosophy more than any other sci-fi. The protomolecule does break some rules, but it's very deliberate, exploring an idea of first contact. But so many details (vertical ship construction, maneuvering, effects of gravity on humans, travel time, momentum, etc., etc.) are not only accurate, but shape the word & drive the plot. Sans protomolecule, it is by far the most realistic representation of near-future interplanetary humanity, down to the details of day-to-day life of average people. Most of the human world could totally exist, with just a few totally plausible (if difficult) advancements.
The way I understand it, Miller had a dream about Julie saying « you belong with me » . Then he gets infected and becomes part of the protomolecule, so Julie gets instant access to his memories. But I’ve seen others saying it’s the protomolecule breaking time as we know it, so I don’t know !
It’s a space-time ripple from the moment Miller gets infected and touches Julie’s hand. It’s why she saw him coming into the room wearing his hat right before she died.
What an emotional rollercoaster. Seeing how the PM breaks all sort of laws of physics, we see how Miller and Julie are destined to meet from this moment backwards. Miller seeing the visions of Julie and of the bird and Julie in her last moments sees the bird and Miller coming to her. Star and time crossed lovers. Miller's obsession with finding Julie could have been influenced by the PM. And as Anderson Dawes said, one day he would find his way "Home"...
From the point Miller came up with the plan to stop Eros he was never leaving Eros. This ending was as good as it was going to get for Miller. He was done.
The thing about the expanse being realistic is all of the aspects are very grounded in science and are hard science *except* anything having to do with the proto-molecule. So things like the impact of differential gravity, the gravity on ships being only the result of acceleration and is thus in one direction, things like the way they do fight scenes (like from early the escape from the Martian ship when Holden clips them together and kicks off someone to bring him back to the ramp, or the way they decompress the interior of the ship before combat so there's no explosive decompression, etc.) to the way that things take time to travel, and time even to communicate across the solar system (light seconds and light minutes of delay). Even the social system with the value of water and oxygen as scarce resources, the exploitation of different people, and the creole like languages of the belt is fairly realistic.
Earth as a population of 30 billion people, so had Eros hit it, it would have wiped out two-thirds of the planet's population. And it still would have more people than Earth does, today. But, yeah, it would've been a cataclysmic, extinction-level event.
I always assumed that PM-Julie was forming for a long time within the protomolecule hive mind. As it "dreamed" it was monitoring Miller, and kept on putting visions of "Julie" in his mind over and over again trying to communicate with him.
That was a good thought that any scientist who had the empathy removal procedure would be kept away from the public. Miller's bomb was like having a nuclear Tamaguchi. Not only was Julie the seed crystal in Eros, Dresden had also pumped her body with additional energy. But I think the real reason the Protomolecule used Julie is because she was a racer pilot and the Protomolecule wanted to get somewhere fast. When Proto-Julie touched the bomb, the power drained out of it and it's panel went dark. Avasarala could not say so, but she knew Johnson was an honorable man because of what Souther had told her about him. I knew Miller was going to die when he had no future in mind when Diogo asked him about it.
23:00 Bro can you imagine seeing stuff like this in real life? Like if you somehow got into an alien ship with that stuff our brains would probably short circuit from getting mind F'd. You heart would feel like it's in your stomach and your stomach would feel like you're about to crap it out.
Remember that Dresden said that the protomolecule was put on Phoebe and sent into our solar system 2 billion years ago - long before humans or even dinosaurs, when only primordial life existed on earth. So it wasn’t sent to harm humans, but it had a distinct purpose and you’ll find out more and more about what that purpose is as the show goes on.
Every tear that trickles down our cheeks while watching Book One come to a close is a tribute to all involved with The Expanse. The changes in the TV story were wondrous. In the book, the protomolecule was ugly, not an iridescent topaz. In the book, there was no final kiss. A few reactors have not "bought" this conclusion, but, for the most part, people did fully invest themselves in Miller's long-distance love for Julie Mao. It made the end of his quest, his finding of Julie at last, amazingly bittersweet, and that kiss sealed the deal. In that moment, all the mysteries, all the action, turned into nothing more than a love story, one of the very best ever told. Miller probably knew at the time he was never getting off of Eros, but that did not diminish his removal of his helmet, and his personal sacrifice in being with Julie, in touch with her, as Eros hurtled towards a crash on Venus. He offered up his life for no better reason than making certain Julie would not die alone and afraid. Excuse me, I have to find a tissue.
An extra solar object traveling to our system from the closest star would take 4.25 years to reach us... at the speed of light. Nothing, other than light, travels at the speed of light though... So since Phoebe has been in orbit of Saturn at least since humans first observed it (1898) then it stands to reason Phoebe would have arrived before that. Possibly long before that. Like before humans. :D
I don't know if this has been addressed yet but Pheobe, where the protomolocule was discovered, is thought to be an extra-solar object that was captured by Saturn's gravity.
At the beginning there were a whole 5 minutes where you were taking turns talking instead of talking over each other. Had to make sure I had the right channel :). Must need more coffee! Great reaction. I just love how much you're invested in the series already. Long live Miller!
The first half of the movie was amazing. When the history focused entirely in Amy Adams and "left" the alien storyline the movie, I think got more boring. Several people i know found the movie boring by that. I still think is a very good movie.
Not that great of a movie, really fell apart on itself in the second half. Doesn't touch "The Expanse", didn't fall asleep in that movie but I barely cared for it by time it was done. Would never watch it a second time; I've watched the entire Expanse Series now 20+ times and will readily watch it again another 20.
Julie was an Earther who rejected Earth and pretended to be a Belter, Miller was a Belter who pretended to be an Earther. They both rejected their worlds and were alone in life, thats what is meant when she says "you belong with me". They understand eachother like no one else can.
Had a friend insist I had to watch "Arrival"... I also found it a little too relaxing myself. But I never felt that way with the Expanse. Been fun watching yous enjoy.
When we say this is the most realistic sci-fi show. We're talking about everything but the protomolecule. All of the base science How they travel through space, time delays, weapons, ship layouts How we think the human body might adapt to living in space. No sheilds, they just have to suck it up and burn through debris. Getting holes in your spacecraft. Mag boots, how gravity works on ahips without fake gravity. Theres no warp speed or faster thsn light travel. No teleportation. Its all within the realm of realiatic compaired to basically all others.
The best episode *so far*.... it gets better. Then it gets better again... I believe they're implying that the communication between Miller and Julie is transcending time.... but I don't think that's ever been fully confirmed. P.S. Keep your eye on Drummer (Fred's assistant). You won't regret it :)
As close to realistic physics as they could get was a fundamental aspect of the show. Using realism to build the drama was part of the show's design. Any time something defies physics it is a huge deal. That is why it is more realistic. Warp drive is only a small part of how this was a fundamental step away from WWII flight modeled sci fi. it is also one reason the show was so expensive to make!
When people talk about the show being realistic, they're referring to the human technology. There's no artificial gravity, for example, any time people are sticking to the floor it's because they're either on a planet, in a rotating station, under thrust, or wearing magnetised boots. Everything the protomolecule does is pure science fantasy, it has its own rules that we slowly learn over time (particularly in season and book 4).
You're exactly right, they threw the science out the window with this episode! The authors freely admit it. You're entering into the best part of the series btw.
I would put it the other way around: They don't threw science out of the window. They threw something through the window inside, which questions everything, science knows at this time. Or: Breaking the known laws of physics is part of the story and not, that the authors don't care for physics anymore.
They one a Hugo for the S1 finale. Beating out GoTs Battle of the Bastards. Unfortunately it's the only award to date. It is up for another Hugo this yr for S5 finale Nemesis Games. But because of the mainstream hits it's up against, sadly it's not a favorite to win. But it did beat GoTs sooo... we'll see.
I think a lot of us were concerned how you would react to this one since you had often said you would get upset if Miller died. Glad you really liked it. A lot of fans regarded this as their favorite episode of the show...at least until some more episodes aired. In other words, the show keeps getting better and better. This episode will probably remain one of your favorites but, trust me, there will be more.
This episode is amazing. Loved your reaction to this episode and this book arc, can’t wait to see your reactions to the next book arc as it’s my favourite! Hang on for the ride 😁
Fun fact: even Protomolecule is within the bounds of theoretical physics. Plus I love how the alien life is portrayed here. Something so advanced, so much out of our experience, we can't even understand it. It's like showing a nuclear reactor to a cave-man. He wouldn't understand fuck all.
@@elkapro6534 Sure, but this episode already shows the PM is basically weird alien optic fibre that a human mind can be a ghost inside, it's not The Thing.
This is the first time I've rewatched these earlier episodes and Julie saying "Can't stop the work" made goosebump stand up on my arms. Definitely did not catch that connection the first time around.
39:00 The show space stuff works in the expense is far more possible than Battlestar Glactica. Gravity, the engine, the vac suit, space travel, space ship, mars, the belt, the space battle etc. And that's why when they add portomolecule feel like pure sock more than any alien sci fi show. Because that the only thing that impossible to be exist in this universe that more than 100years conquering the space of solar system.. Battletar galactica have an artificial gravity on their ships which is just magic, and hyperspace that make no sense, the space battle basically just WW2 dogfight and consequence living anywhere on other planet or asteroid is basically just like earth. 🤣🤣 Sorry guys I'm so triggered because the people who make the show/books is doing research really hard on this and not take any shortcut to make it easy like from other sci-fi.🤣🤣
I hear spinning up Ceres and living inside is also sci-fi, you could coat the surface with diamond so it wouldn't break apart if you spun it up, sure, but it would now be liquid minerals inside or something.
I strongly recommend to L&M to go back and watch Season 1 again, so they can get to know Miller better, and to keep him alive in their minds. There is a lot to take in on the first viewing of S1, and I know that they missed quite a bit of Miller's storyline in the early episodes.
No Spoilers. The Protomolecule does have a purpose, but it will only make sense in retrospect, sort of. one of the hardest things for a sci-fi writer to do is come up with a truly alien alien. not just humans in an alien skin. An alien that doesn't have the same motivations, goals, or thought processes that humans do. we humans are limited by HOW we think, the way and manner of our thinking, to even be able to conceptualize how a truly alien alien COULD think
You thought Julie floating was the unrealistic thing in this episode? What about Miller walking around likes he's in a comfortable environment while Eros accelerates for several minutes at rates that are causing the crew of the Rocinante to be pushed dangerously into their seats while they struggle to keep up? The protomolecule breaks all the rules, as demonstrated in this episode. I think Julie floating might be a touch of realism in an episode full of extraordinarily unrealistic phenomena. When you are in space you tend to float because you spend a majority of the time in free fall. We often call this weightlessness 'zero-g', but this is a mistake because there still is gravity in space. If you were 250 miles above the Earth, you would still fall towards the Earth because of gravity, but you would feel weightless because you are in free fall. If Eros stopped accelerating once it was too far away for the Roci to pose a threat by target painting it, everything inside of it should be floating. The reason people can walk around in the ships while in space is because the ships are either accelerating or decelerating, which is pushing them into the floor, or they're using magnetic boots to hold their feet to deck. The reason they can walk inside of space stations is because those stations are rotating. However, Eros stopped rotating when it started moving. Miller makes a comment about this. Yet when he is inside the station the gravity is comfortable and not crushing. Think about that, a station designed for artificial gravity from rotation still has the same gravity despite it not rotating and while accelerating at ludicrous rates. I like that the only person we ever see with their hair down in 'zero-g' is Julie Mao. For realistic reasons, working in space with your hair floating around would be a problem, so you can stay true to life and always have people keep their hair up or have them keep it cut short. I like to believe this is one reason they had Miller cut his hair earlier in this season: he needed to have less hair floating around in this scene.* For practical reasons, spending your budget on CGI hair can be expensive if you do it too much and want it to look good. They chose to do it in the opening scene of Season 1 as the introduction to the series and for the last climatic scene of this episode, both times with Julie Mao's character. A great way to bookend the first novel's adaption. *The other much more important reason Miller shaved his hair is of course the symbolic gesture of him embracing his Belter heritage that he spent a large portion of his life in opposition with as a cop working for an Earth Corp.
@@Mansplainer2099-jy8ps When I said everything should be floating, I was more thinking about the bomb and the gear Miller took off and dropped. But the scene was already pretty beautiful, it didn't need to spend more money making more things float.
The crew pouring one out for Miller always gets me.
RIP "Josh" Miller, beautiful ending to his and Julie's storyline
The most SciFi love story ever.
I remember watching this episode for the first time and thinking "This is the most extraordinary episode of TV I had ever seen." It's wonderful that you both share your reactions. This is the best sci-fi show ever. Just wait. It gets even better.
ONE HUNDRED PERCENT SAME.
Agreed. This show is so fucking good. I’m literally watching the show from beginning to end for like the 4th time in a row now. lol. I can’t get into other shows, they just don’t match the tension of The Expanse.
This was the episode of tv that got me into watching reactions
I just watched this episode, IT WAS FKING AMAZING
This my favorite episode. I love how the end switches to a gothic romance that has been building from the first scene. Amazing writing, and the acting is just as good.
When we say The Expanse is very realistic, we're not counting the Protomolecule. 🤣
not really, even Protomolecule follows theoretical physics.
@@elkapro6534 We don't know yet if there is something on Phoebe. 😯 It is from out of our solar system, like to Pluto. 😟
@@raphaelatienza Actually, it probably isn't. Most accepted theory nowadays says it is from outer solar system (probably Kuiper belt)
yes we are. the book protomolecule accounts for time delay. the protomolecule is using entanglement at a level we cannot even dream at yet to do that
@@elkapro6534 yeah, especially the whole thing about moving a massive asteroid without a reaction drive while making the asteroid itself feel no applied force to it... lol
"they're going to stay with Eros, even if it kills them" - my favorite line in the episode and a reflection of the true heroism of the Roci crew👍
and then they fail. THAT is what sets Expanse apart, nothing comes easy.
And I'm happy to report girls that Amos gets exponentially hotter with every new season. 👌
I can't wait for their reaction for the scene with Prax. 👀🔥
Absolutely 🌶🌶🌶
@@raphaelatienza oh yes THAT scene 👌
The guy making the decisions is the Secretary General of the United Nations, Esteban Sorento-Gillis. Sadavir Errinwright is the Undersecretary of the UN, 2nd in command. Avasarala is Undersecretary General of the Executive Office of the Secretary General, quite a long title.... I think this makes her kind of like Chief of Staff in US terms, highest ranking advisor.
In the books Avasarala refers to him as the bobble head
All of the protomolecule currently in operation interacted with julie. Phoebe was destroyed, the Anubis was destroyed, and the Rocinante crew have the only original sample. All of Eros’s protomolecule was extracted from Julie.
I haven’t seen this episode in years. I just finished reading the books for the 2nd time. Seeing this episode again, in your reactions, (plus the meat from Leviathan Wakes) brought tears to my eyes.
Tragically beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe what happens to Miller and Julie. You can see where Julie and Miller are both influencing each other throughout the story line, urging their paths to intersect. What seems like fate is just the non-local nature of the PM, tying together connections to accomplish its own ends…which is kind of what destiny is 🤷🏽♂️ in the universal sense.
Miller’s love for Julie’s spirit is probably the purest type of connection he was looking for. A connection to his own humanity he had lost. A love for life itself he didn’t think he had anymore until he came across her. Julie sacrificed herself for the Belt and Belters like Miller, in an age where something like that was as improbable to humans as the protomolecule itself lol. Such great writing and acting and cinematography altogether! Love this freaking series!
I think what people are refering to when saying that the Expanse is more realistic than Battlestar:Galactica is everything but the protomolecule - especially the physics and other sciences portrayed in the Expanse are fairly accurate and the universe is close to something one would imagine in real life. I think it also does a great job of incorporating principle/deep knowledge from science into the storyline. Case in point:
You've noticed that their is some time weirdness between Julie and Miller with them saying 'You belong with me'. We see the protomolecule has the ability to completely ignore momentum conservation (i.e. Miller does not feel the acceleration while on Eros at all while the crew really feels it on the Roci), which is deeply connected to breaking space symmetry (this is a beautiful connection in physics due to Emmy Noether). Similarly, it seems like it can ignore Energy conservation which by the same token hints at a breaking of time symmetry. That is it is heavily hinted that the protomolecule can mess with time and I personally think that also explains Miller's somewhat strange obsession with Julie - he remembers the future.
Weird take.
I honestly think the protomolecule doesn't break as many rules as people think. It just works with invisible sources.
When flying towards earth, it still had a thermal residue. It might have been working by pushing dark matter in the opposite direction.
I think the protomolecule respects conservation of energy and entropy well enough. That's why it needs life or machines to grow in the first place. It's why it was dormant on the cold Phoebe
@@androkguz Fair enough. It's fictional after all so who really knows, I just like the idea. The protomolecule definitely breaks momentum conservation though - especially later. It's also non-local!
@@androkguz not a weird take imo. Just because the protomolocule has some waste heat, doesn’t mean it’s not also breaking pretty much every other known law or theory of physics that we have.
If nothing else the same there’s definitely the space-time ripple that happens after Josh has taken off his helmet, become infected with the protomolocule and taken Julie’s hand.
@@Drummer4President it's not in fact. Even PM is bound by theoretical physics as we know/created them. Its movement is an example of Alcubierre Drive, which is perfectly plausible according to Einstein's field equations.
It doesn't break energy conservation, it even generates waste heat, so it's following thermodynamics
In the expanse the technology humans use and space physics are very close to being realistic. That's whats different from BSG. They don't have magical artificial gravity or faster than light travel. The protomolecule is the only thing that doesn't respect that rule.
This particular Episode, I think was one of the best pieces of fiction in any format I have ever witnessed.
Me too. Simply The Best!
"This would be stunning if it wasn't terrifying."
Nice one! You may find opportunities to use that phrase again in future episodes of this series! LOL
They will. Just ask Maneo` Jung.
@@gmmonomotapa2889 🫠
Gets me every time. This was an award worthy episode of television. Phenomenal is right.
Episode is called Home. Mankind's home is threatened. Julie wants to go home. And back in season 1, Anderson Dawes told Miller that when he has lost everything, hell find his way home, and would be welcomed. And so, Miller's arc is complete. And yes, he told Naomi, season 2 episode 1, that he sees her and that she tells him "you belong with me."
Believe it or not, though this is in my top 5 episodes, it gets better. From here to the end of season 3 is just ridiculous. I can't believe how criminally underwatched this show is
Love watching you two on this journey, another awesome reaction video! If you think that was a tear jerker...just know The Expanse is going to grab those tears a ton more before it's done. Cliffhangers & Tear Jerkers are The Expanse's specialty!!!
The science, the way ships fly, the way water flows curved. Thats what is scientific based
Great reaction. I think the protomolecule system was essentially “repurposing” Julie’s consciousness to meet its own needs, much like the original concept of the Matrix (before the producers made the Wachowskis change the concept to “batteries”). The protomolecule system wanted more human organic matter to infect; sensing Julie’s desire to return to Earth (the place with the most human organic matter), it put Julie into a “Matrix” scenario where she was driving the Razorback, thus trying to exploit her feelings of abandonment and desire to return home. That is, until she awoke and realized she could “bend the rules”. It’s kind of beautiful how Miller was the Morpheus to her Neo.
This is not something that's necessarily confirmed but there's a lot of strong evidence for it throughout the first two seasons if you go back and rewatch it: the protomolecule exists outside the confines of time, which is how it's able to move objects by altering SpaceTime around them. That's important to our story because you noticed that Miller and Julie seem inexorably drawn to each other and even love each other without ever having met. And there's a lot of times in the show where they see each other or they say things that they can't possibly already know but then come up later, such as when Julie says that he belongs with her or when she uses the hummingbird to draw him to her or when she saw him as she was dying even though he wasn't there. There's a ton of examples of it, but it seems that because they both eventually become part of the protomolecule that they have been existing together outside of time their entire lives and it's why they were drawn to each other because they eventually end up together which means they have always existed together outside of time in the past and the present and the future. They are quite literally together forever and always have been. A lot of what happens with Miller seems coincidental to get him to this point unless he was always supposed to get to this point in which case it it wasn't coincidences that brought him here it was the fact that he's always been here with her
Josephus Miller, the Belter who wanted to be an Earther, and Julie Mao, the Earther who loved the Belt, united together for eternity. 😭
Right girls. I’ve watched so many reaction videos to The Expanse. Beautiful genuine stuff. S1E4, S2E5 are always highlights.
And there’s more to come.
The technology the humans have is mostly realistic/plausible (at least more so than many sci-fi shows). On the other hand, the protomolecule is not - it's alien, it's presumably "advanced" and can do things we can't explain based on modern science. I think that's kind of the point - the contrast between what we know and what we don't know. (Plus it would've been a spoiler to mention anything about the protomolecule at the start.)
The protomolecule can definitely do amazing things, though it is only a piece of technology. I find the concept of the protomolecule itself totally believeable on the other hand; A universal, intelligently-designed virus that uses any form of life of any chemistry into a preprogrammed technology, entirely through trial and error with that biology.
It follows Clarke's Third Law
I love your reactions. The two of you are so incredibly bright and ask such good questions and see things a lot of other reactors don't. Bravo
The Secretary General of the UN said...'what the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly'
I love your Expanse reactions so much. Thank you, ladies!
For me, a True hero dies to save everyone else. For book 1, Joe Miller is a True Hero. This is how to tell a story. This show is my all time favorite sci-fi TV series. The writing, the acting, the production (CGI, and sets/costumes), are just top tier, and perfect. This show deserves many Emmy awards. So on to book 2. Hang on tight. This ride ain't over yet. Glad you two are as invested in this show as I am.
Great reaction!
It's so wonderful to see these two ladies get emotional invested in this story!
To be fair I've seen this so many times, and it still rips my heart out.
And to think that it only gets better!!
Can't wait for the next one!
Mark Twain: "Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."
The Expanse follows this philosophy more than any other sci-fi. The protomolecule does break some rules, but it's very deliberate, exploring an idea of first contact.
But so many details (vertical ship construction, maneuvering, effects of gravity on humans, travel time, momentum, etc., etc.) are not only accurate, but shape the word & drive the plot. Sans protomolecule, it is by far the most realistic representation of near-future interplanetary humanity, down to the details of day-to-day life of average people. Most of the human world could totally exist, with just a few totally plausible (if difficult) advancements.
The way I understand it, Miller had a dream about Julie saying « you belong with me » . Then he gets infected and becomes part of the protomolecule, so Julie gets instant access to his memories. But I’ve seen others saying it’s the protomolecule breaking time as we know it, so I don’t know !
It’s a space-time ripple from the moment Miller gets infected and touches Julie’s hand. It’s why she saw him coming into the room wearing his hat right before she died.
It's as if Miller was invited and expected, I believe it's the reason that the Eros environment was kept survivable.
One of the most beautiful scenes in tv was that Miller and Julie scene.
It’s so great to watch your reactions. Such smart discussions, such great questions and theories, lots of involvement with the show. Amaze!
Thank you for sharing your reactions with us. I was moved by how you were moved :). Screaming Firehawks are grateful!
What an emotional rollercoaster. Seeing how the PM breaks all sort of laws of physics, we see how Miller and Julie are destined to meet from this moment backwards. Miller seeing the visions of Julie and of the bird and Julie in her last moments sees the bird and Miller coming to her. Star and time crossed lovers. Miller's obsession with finding Julie could have been influenced by the PM. And as Anderson Dawes said, one day he would find his way "Home"...
From the point Miller came up with the plan to stop Eros he was never leaving Eros. This ending was as good as it was going to get for Miller. He was done.
The thing about the expanse being realistic is all of the aspects are very grounded in science and are hard science *except* anything having to do with the proto-molecule.
So things like the impact of differential gravity, the gravity on ships being only the result of acceleration and is thus in one direction, things like the way they do fight scenes (like from early the escape from the Martian ship when Holden clips them together and kicks off someone to bring him back to the ramp, or the way they decompress the interior of the ship before combat so there's no explosive decompression, etc.) to the way that things take time to travel, and time even to communicate across the solar system (light seconds and light minutes of delay). Even the social system with the value of water and oxygen as scarce resources, the exploitation of different people, and the creole like languages of the belt is fairly realistic.
Earth as a population of 30 billion people, so had Eros hit it, it would have wiped out two-thirds of the planet's population.
And it still would have more people than Earth does, today.
But, yeah, it would've been a cataclysmic, extinction-level event.
Well it would also infect earth with the protomolecule. Probably killing every last living thing on the surface.
Everyone else would've been infected by the protomolecule pretty quickly
I always assumed that PM-Julie was forming for a long time within the protomolecule hive mind. As it "dreamed" it was monitoring Miller, and kept on putting visions of "Julie" in his mind over and over again trying to communicate with him.
RIP Miller, he was my favorite character. Also this is one of my favorite episodes of the show.
That was a good thought that any scientist who had the empathy removal procedure would be kept away from the public.
Miller's bomb was like having a nuclear Tamaguchi.
Not only was Julie the seed crystal in Eros, Dresden had also pumped her body with additional energy. But I think the real reason the Protomolecule used Julie is because she was a racer pilot and the Protomolecule wanted to get somewhere fast.
When Proto-Julie touched the bomb, the power drained out of it and it's panel went dark.
Avasarala could not say so, but she knew Johnson was an honorable man because of what Souther had told her about him.
I knew Miller was going to die when he had no future in mind when Diogo asked him about it.
I've watched this episode a gazillion times, but still tear up at the end. Miller will always be my favorite character in the series. RIP.
When people say the Expanse is realistic, they're talking about the ships and orbital mechanics, not the aliens.
23:00 Bro can you imagine seeing stuff like this in real life? Like if you somehow got into an alien ship with that stuff our brains would probably short circuit from getting mind F'd. You heart would feel like it's in your stomach and your stomach would feel like you're about to crap it out.
Remember that Dresden said that the protomolecule was put on Phoebe and sent into our solar system 2 billion years ago - long before humans or even dinosaurs, when only primordial life existed on earth. So it wasn’t sent to harm humans, but it had a distinct purpose and you’ll find out more and more about what that purpose is as the show goes on.
I love listening to Lola and Milena thought process on this show the the reaction. It's so interesting :D
Ladies, now we can officially welcome you to the Expanse family. You just made it past the Point of NO RETURN.
first time I've seen reactors thrilled that Eros is heading for collision/destruction of Earth
Every tear that trickles down our cheeks while watching Book One come to a close is a tribute to all involved with The Expanse. The changes in the TV story were wondrous. In the book, the protomolecule was ugly, not an iridescent topaz. In the book, there was no final kiss. A few reactors have not "bought" this conclusion, but, for the most part, people did fully invest themselves in Miller's long-distance love for Julie Mao. It made the end of his quest, his finding of Julie at last, amazingly bittersweet, and that kiss sealed the deal. In that moment, all the mysteries, all the action, turned into nothing more than a love story, one of the very best ever told. Miller probably knew at the time he was never getting off of Eros, but that did not diminish his removal of his helmet, and his personal sacrifice in being with Julie, in touch with her, as Eros hurtled towards a crash on Venus. He offered up his life for no better reason than making certain Julie would not die alone and afraid. Excuse me, I have to find a tissue.
An extra solar object traveling to our system from the closest star would take 4.25 years to reach us... at the speed of light. Nothing, other than light, travels at the speed of light though... So since Phoebe has been in orbit of Saturn at least since humans first observed it (1898) then it stands to reason Phoebe would have arrived before that. Possibly long before that. Like before humans. :D
Julie and Miller's relationship was always non-linear
I don't know if this has been addressed yet but Pheobe, where the protomolocule was discovered, is thought to be an extra-solar object that was captured by Saturn's gravity.
The most common theory is that it's a Kuiper Belt object, NOT extrasolar
@@dapeach06 Thank you for the clarification. I should have written an outer solar system object.
At the beginning there were a whole 5 minutes where you were taking turns talking instead of talking over each other. Had to make sure I had the right channel :). Must need more coffee! Great reaction. I just love how much you're invested in the series already. Long live Miller!
How do you fall asleep in Arrival, Milena? It's one of the best Sci-Fi movies ever!
The first half of the movie was amazing. When the history focused entirely in Amy Adams and "left" the alien storyline the movie, I think got more boring. Several people i know found the movie boring by that.
I still think is a very good movie.
Not that great of a movie, really fell apart on itself in the second half. Doesn't touch "The Expanse", didn't fall asleep in that movie but I barely cared for it by time it was done. Would never watch it a second time; I've watched the entire Expanse Series now 20+ times and will readily watch it again another 20.
Arrival is everything I wanted "Interstellar" to be
@@EvilAnomaly
In what way did it "fell apart"?
Julie was an Earther who rejected Earth and pretended to be a Belter, Miller was a Belter who pretended to be an Earther. They both rejected their worlds and were alone in life, thats what is meant when she says "you belong with me". They understand eachother like no one else can.
YOU CAN'T STOP THE WORK
I'm so glad y'all made it to this point!
Had a friend insist I had to watch "Arrival"... I also found it a little too relaxing myself. But I never felt that way with the Expanse. Been fun watching yous enjoy.
As far as Earth's population, at this point in the story it's right around 30 billion on Earth.
When we say this is the most realistic sci-fi show. We're talking about everything but the protomolecule. All of the base science
How they travel through space, time delays, weapons, ship layouts
How we think the human body might adapt to living in space. No sheilds, they just have to suck it up and burn through debris. Getting holes in your spacecraft. Mag boots, how gravity works on ahips without fake gravity.
Theres no warp speed or faster thsn light travel. No teleportation. Its all within the realm of realiatic compaired to basically all others.
The best episode *so far*.... it gets better. Then it gets better again...
I believe they're implying that the communication between Miller and Julie is transcending time.... but I don't think that's ever been fully confirmed.
P.S. Keep your eye on Drummer (Fred's assistant). You won't regret it :)
I named my new puppy "Nuke". He loves his walks.
The line is: “In the Expanse, the physics are all real.
Until they are not”
Well, the physics are all realistic, except for the Protomolecule, which doesn't seem bound to our laws of physics at all.
@@PlacidDragon that’s what I said.
😜
Yes, that would be a typical sentence from Daniel Abraham.
Onward to book 2!!! Great reaction!
Sorry for the randomness of the comment lol, but can we appreciate how cute Lola looks with that hairstyle? 😍
BSG has warp drive, that's how the expanse is 'more realistic'.
And gravity in all the ships that is NEVER touched upon.
As close to realistic physics as they could get was a fundamental aspect of the show. Using realism to build the drama was part of the show's design. Any time something defies physics it is a huge deal. That is why it is more realistic. Warp drive is only a small part of how this was a fundamental step away from WWII flight modeled sci fi. it is also one reason the show was so expensive to make!
RIP JOSH!
Your reaction to this episode is the best. As for the Protomolecule being like Cylons,.. your on the correct track kind of... think nano bots.
Camina was giving Fred The bird via read between the lines method.
XXX
When people talk about the show being realistic, they're referring to the human technology. There's no artificial gravity, for example, any time people are sticking to the floor it's because they're either on a planet, in a rotating station, under thrust, or wearing magnetised boots. Everything the protomolecule does is pure science fantasy, it has its own rules that we slowly learn over time (particularly in season and book 4).
Everybody who loves "The Expanse", I love.
You're exactly right, they threw the science out the window with this episode! The authors freely admit it. You're entering into the best part of the series btw.
I would put it the other way around: They don't threw science out of the window. They threw something through the window inside, which questions everything, science knows at this time. Or: Breaking the known laws of physics is part of the story and not, that the authors don't care for physics anymore.
What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly.
~Richard Bach
This series won a Hugo award SciFi excellence award
They one a Hugo for the S1 finale.
Beating out GoTs Battle of the Bastards.
Unfortunately it's the only award to date.
It is up for another Hugo this yr for S5 finale Nemesis Games.
But because of the mainstream hits it's up against, sadly it's not a favorite to win.
But it did beat GoTs sooo... we'll see.
aaand here we go!
I think a lot of us were concerned how you would react to this one since you had often said you would get upset if Miller died. Glad you really liked it. A lot of fans regarded this as their favorite episode of the show...at least until some more episodes aired. In other words, the show keeps getting better and better. This episode will probably remain one of your favorites but, trust me, there will be more.
This episode is amazing. Loved your reaction to this episode and this book arc, can’t wait to see your reactions to the next book arc as it’s my favourite! Hang on for the ride 😁
And the L.D.S.S. Nauvoo remains a kinetic missile on a hard burn out of the system.
Yes, Miller is awesome, I also felt sad when he left.
on your preamble. the rock was tossed about 2 billion years before we existed; its not an attack on hoomanz. :)
Arrival is amazing. First contact as art.
Fun fact: even Protomolecule is within the bounds of theoretical physics.
Plus I love how the alien life is portrayed here. Something so advanced, so much out of our experience, we can't even understand it. It's like showing a nuclear reactor to a cave-man. He wouldn't understand fuck all.
Well, this is more like the monoliths in 2001: A Space Odyssey than alien life.
@@Mansplainer2099-jy8ps hey, I don't want to spoil what PM really is.
@@elkapro6534 Sure, but this episode already shows the PM is basically weird alien optic fibre that a human mind can be a ghost inside, it's not The Thing.
Eros is a couple of orders bigger than the asteroid that brought about the end of the dinosaurs.
The Julie and Miller scene broke me down.
best episode in the whole show in my opinion.
And Miller -- the best character.
Great job - I finally got your patreon btw.
I always saw myself in Miller. Someone just existing, surviving yet yearning to find something, anything to believe in. Still a beautiful end.
It's crazy how all the blue stuff is made of Humans.
Interesting comparison with Arrival :)
I love this episode so much :'D 10/10
This is the first time I've rewatched these earlier episodes and Julie saying "Can't stop the work" made goosebump stand up on my arms. Definitely did not catch that connection the first time around.
39:00 The show space stuff works in the expense is far more possible than Battlestar Glactica. Gravity, the engine, the vac suit, space travel, space ship, mars, the belt, the space battle etc. And that's why when they add portomolecule feel like pure sock more than any alien sci fi show. Because that the only thing that impossible to be exist in this universe that more than 100years conquering the space of solar system..
Battletar galactica have an artificial gravity on their ships which is just magic, and hyperspace that make no sense, the space battle basically just WW2 dogfight and consequence living anywhere on other planet or asteroid is basically just like earth. 🤣🤣
Sorry guys I'm so triggered because the people who make the show/books is doing research really hard on this and not take any shortcut to make it easy like from other sci-fi.🤣🤣
I hear spinning up Ceres and living inside is also sci-fi, you could coat the surface with diamond so it wouldn't break apart if you spun it up, sure, but it would now be liquid minerals inside or something.
Gonna be fun to watch you go through books 2 and 3, they are kind of nonstop
I strongly recommend to L&M to go back and watch Season 1 again, so they can get to know Miller better, and to keep him alive in their minds. There is a lot to take in on the first viewing of S1, and I know that they missed quite a bit of Miller's storyline in the early episodes.
even the aliens are realistic. books 8 and 9 explain a lot of how they did this
Same shirts as last time? Get ready to binge the rest of the show :)
No Spoilers. The Protomolecule does have a purpose, but it will only make sense in retrospect, sort of.
one of the hardest things for a sci-fi writer to do is come up with a truly alien alien. not just humans in an alien skin. An alien that doesn't have the same motivations, goals, or thought processes that humans do.
we humans are limited by HOW we think, the way and manner of our thinking, to even be able to conceptualize how a truly alien alien COULD think
Aactuaally "purpose" is a myth, it never exists outside the imagination.
Wow 😂 love you guys❤❤
And now it’s gets exciting start of book 2 if you wear hats hold on tight.
omg ladies I gotta go to work in six hours, what are you doing to me 🤷♂️
oh well, here we go 🖥
You thought Julie floating was the unrealistic thing in this episode? What about Miller walking around likes he's in a comfortable environment while Eros accelerates for several minutes at rates that are causing the crew of the Rocinante to be pushed dangerously into their seats while they struggle to keep up? The protomolecule breaks all the rules, as demonstrated in this episode.
I think Julie floating might be a touch of realism in an episode full of extraordinarily unrealistic phenomena. When you are in space you tend to float because you spend a majority of the time in free fall. We often call this weightlessness 'zero-g', but this is a mistake because there still is gravity in space. If you were 250 miles above the Earth, you would still fall towards the Earth because of gravity, but you would feel weightless because you are in free fall. If Eros stopped accelerating once it was too far away for the Roci to pose a threat by target painting it, everything inside of it should be floating.
The reason people can walk around in the ships while in space is because the ships are either accelerating or decelerating, which is pushing them into the floor, or they're using magnetic boots to hold their feet to deck. The reason they can walk inside of space stations is because those stations are rotating. However, Eros stopped rotating when it started moving. Miller makes a comment about this. Yet when he is inside the station the gravity is comfortable and not crushing. Think about that, a station designed for artificial gravity from rotation still has the same gravity despite it not rotating and while accelerating at ludicrous rates.
I like that the only person we ever see with their hair down in 'zero-g' is Julie Mao. For realistic reasons, working in space with your hair floating around would be a problem, so you can stay true to life and always have people keep their hair up or have them keep it cut short. I like to believe this is one reason they had Miller cut his hair earlier in this season: he needed to have less hair floating around in this scene.* For practical reasons, spending your budget on CGI hair can be expensive if you do it too much and want it to look good. They chose to do it in the opening scene of Season 1 as the introduction to the series and for the last climatic scene of this episode, both times with Julie Mao's character. A great way to bookend the first novel's adaption.
*The other much more important reason Miller shaved his hair is of course the symbolic gesture of him embracing his Belter heritage that he spent a large portion of his life in opposition with as a cop working for an Earth Corp.
Miller has magnetic boots though.
@@Mansplainer2099-jy8ps When I said everything should be floating, I was more thinking about the bomb and the gear Miller took off and dropped. But the scene was already pretty beautiful, it didn't need to spend more money making more things float.
@@EnergySurge Ah, excellent point.
You going to need a box of tissues for S2E12.
I'm begging for a "The Good Place" reaction !
Eros & Venus ❤️
Thr Expanse is so realistic because the series normally follows the laws of physics. But the protomolecule doesn´t.
Episode 5 is the end of book 1